Commands & Colors: Medieval

About this board game

Commands & Colors: Medieval is a two-player strategy game with an approximate play time of 120 minutes, bringing historical medieval battles to the Commands & Colors game system.

Players use a deck of Medieval Command cards to direct movement and create the uncertainty of fog of war. Battle dice resolve combat quickly, while stylized scenario maps emphasize important terrain features and show the historical deployment of forces at the scale of each battle.

The game introduces new concepts that add historical depth and flavor without making the system overly complex. Superior armor and status influence battles, cavalry units increase to four blocks, and heavy infantry use four battle dice instead of five. Light Bow Cavalry can also employ the Parthian Shot when evading.

• Command cards drive movement while creating fog of war.
• Battle dice resolve combat efficiently.
• Armor, unit status, cavalry, heavy infantry, and Parthian Shot shape tactical decisions.
• Scenario maps highlight terrain and historical force deployment.

The scenario book focuses primarily on confrontations between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persians from 530 to 627 AD, with a detour to battles involving the Moors and their rebel allies from 645 to 648 AD. The Byzantine army’s constant transition and reorganization, including its increasing use of armored cavalry formations and missile troops, provides an important historical backdrop.

In Commands & Colors: Medieval, victory depends on adapting battlefield tactics to the strengths and limitations of medieval unit types, weapons, terrain, and history. The scale varies between scenarios: a unit may represent a chiliarchy in one battle and only a few brave warriors in another.